A REVIEW OF CABBAGE PEST MANAGEMENT IN NEW YORK: FROM THE PILOT PROJECTTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, 1978—1982

Field scout inspecting a cabbage field. IPM relies on accurate and efficient monitoring of pest populations. Although a number of major pests attack cabbage in New York, insects are the most important. Two lepidopteran larval pests that begin to attack cabbage early in the season are the diamondback moth and the imported cabbageworm. The cabbage looper, a lepidopteran migrant from the south, arrives late in the season and usually becomes an additional threat. Cabbage maggot, flea beetle, cabbage aphids, and onion thrips are other insect pests that warrant control measures. Cabbage is also sporadically infected by diseases such as black rot, black leg, downy mildew, club root, and sugar beet cyst nematode, any of which can result in substantial crop loss. Growers must protect their crop from these pests by any means available. Presently, pesticides are the most widely used and effective means of crop protection. However, total reliance upon pesticides, to the exclusion of other control tactics, can be inefficient. Strict adherence to pesticides and regular repetitive spraying may result in: increased pest resistance to pesticides; detrimental effects on non-target organisms; environmental pollution; potential hazard to the pesticide applicator, farm worker, and consumer; spiraling treatment costs; and uneconomical use of energy. Since processing cabbage (for sauerkraut) need not be cosmetically perfect, a certain amount of leaf damage by Lepidoptera or diseases is acceptable. This allows growers to treat sauerkraut cabbage less often than fresh market cabbage (approximately 4 vs 8 sprays/field/season, respectively). Since the return per acre of processed cabbage is considerably less than that of fresh market cabbage ($736 and $3,500, respectively), sauerkraut growers must be more economical in their crop protection practices